Page 112 of Psycho Beasts

Screaming, I tugged and tugged at the paper.

It didn’t tear at all.

My vision blurred red as I thought about it.

They couldn’t even give me a one-day extension after I’d passed out, or whatever the hell had happened.

Never mind the creepy maid.

Knowing my luck, the wings mentioned in the poem were just a hint that I’d be turning into a giant pigeon.

No hate to the pigeon community, just didn’t know if that lifestyle was for me.

Aran snatched the book from my hand and stomped over to the ornate wood desk in the corner. “Now I see why my tutors were always sighing.”

She plopped down and gestured for me to take the seat next to her. “Let’s just try to forget about the poem for now, because you’re not dying on my watch.”

“Aw.” I put my hand over my heart. “I love this moment for us.”

“No chance in shit do you get the easy out while I’m stuck living with Jinx. Do you know she calls me a cannibal whenever we’re alone? Who does that?”

The moment was over.

“Is she wrong?”

Aran smacked me, hard, and picked up the book. “Whatever. We need to focus.”

She read aloud, “First rule in the Mafia. Unwavering loyalty to the don and the Mafia. Anyone who is not loyal will be executed with a bullet through the brain and their body hung from the tallest building in the city for all to see.”

“Wonderful.”

She shrugged. “I mean, it could be worse.” Her eyes narrowed as she read ahead. “See, rule two says that if an alpha is caught physically harming a null, beta, or omega while unprovoked, the don will disembowel them, then burn them alive.”

Aran shuddered at the last part, and I was immensely glad I had eaten nothing recently.

“Why couldn’t I have been a null?”

She looked at me like I was dense. “Honestly, the fae realm was worse. At least this place has rules. Back home, the monarchy could do anything, to anyone, for any reason. Anything. And Mother was nothing if not creative.”

I pursed my lips, still not convinced.

“And don’t forget the shifter realm was forty degrees below freezing on a good day, and it was common for people to get lost in an ice storm and never come back.”

“Yeah, I guess. Do you think the human realm is peaceful?”

Aran shook her head vehemently. “Everyone knows it’s anarchy over there. Rumor is that they have weapons that can level an entire realm, killing everyone instantly in a mushroom of poisonous fire.”

“Why is everything so fucked?”

I scrubbed at my arms while ancient fae words promising death still echoed in my ears.

Aran slapped the book for emphasis. “No more distractions. You aren’t failing this test, because you have me. I was always at the top of my class, and you aren’t dying because of a test. That’s ridiculous.”

I pursed my lips. “Weren’t you tutored? So wasn’t it a class of one?”

Aran rummaged through the desk until she found a pen and a stack of paper. “Start writing everything I say so you don’t forget.”

She smirked. “And Sadie, my sweet flower, all fae are assigned anonymous identification numbers and required to take a three-day standardized test at sixteen years old. Then we’re ranked against one another.”

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